Come, let us sing for joy unto the Lord
Let us shout to the rock of our salvation
Oh, let us sing to him with thankful hearts
Shout for joy with music and song
Oh, come

chorus:

For the Lord is a great God (x2)
In his hands are the earth, the seas (x2)
For the Lord is the great king (x2)
The seas are his, he has made them (x2)

Come, oh, come, let’s bow down in worship
Let us kneel before the Lord, our maker
Oh, for he, he is our God
We are his, we are his children, his children

chorus

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;

they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all the day long. (Psalm 25:1-5)

We are the vineyard You have planted
Tend our leaves and wild branches
We abide, we abide in You (x2)

Fruit growing from our strength and labor
Rain on us with grace and favor
We abide, we abide in You (x2)

chorus:

Where can my soul find living water?
Apart from You we bear no fruit
O plant my feet down by the river
We abide, we abide in You

We are the vineyard You have planted
Tend our leaves and wild branches
We abide, we abide in You (x2)

chorus

10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

In the freedom the gospel provides, we are able to confess that we do not give the Lord the praise he is worthy of. So often, our meditations are on many things other than God.

The psalmist leads us into prayer:

Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!

Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.

All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. (Psalm 25:6-10)

We serve a God of limitless power and might. Yet, in all of his power he looks on us with mercy, and draws us into his family, because of what Jesus Christ has done.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:9-14)

Together, we remember the hope of the gospel: In Christ, we are forgiven. Amen.

He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater;
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase.
To added affliction, He addeth His mercy;
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace.

When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed, ere the day is half done;
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.

His love has no limit, His grace has no measure;
His power has no boundary known unto man.
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus,
He giveth and giveth and giveth again.

— "He Giveth More Grace" by Annie Flint

Spirit of God, descend upon my heart
Wean it from earth; through all its pulses move
Stoop to my weakness, mighty as Thou art
And make me love Thee as I ought to love

I ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies,
No sudden rending of the veil of clay
No angel vision, no op'ning skies
But take the dimness of my soul away

Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh
Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh
Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer

Hast Thou not bid me love Thee, God and King?
All, all Thine own: soul, heart and strength and mind
I see Thy cross; there teach me to cling
Oh, let me seek Thee and, oh, let me find

Teach me to love Thee as Thine angels love
One holy passion filling all my frame
The presence of Thy descended Dove
My heart an altar and Thy love the flame

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. (2 Corinthians 13:14)

Let us go forth and serve our world as those who love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Thanks be to God!